Calculate Your Genetic Muscular Potencial

When the average guy starts lifting weights, usually he has in his mind pictures of bodybuilders or fitness models that he some day aspires to look like. Nevertheless, one of the things about setting goals is that it is important to set reasonable and realistic goals for oneself. For example if you set your sights too high and realize that it's not possible, it leads to disappointment. On the other hand, if you set your goals too low then you'll probably never reach your potential. So in terms of muscle building it's important to know where to set your goals. So, how much muscle mass could the average guy reasonably develop?

Have Realistic Expectations

We want to mention first that it is not reasonable to expect to develop as much muscle mass as the pro bodybuilders, because of such factors as their superior genetics and the illegal and harmful supplements they use. Those drugs/growth hormones allow them to have a greater recovery ability and to develop more muscle than they would normally be able to. However, taking tens of thousands of dollars of black market drugs a year in large overdoses is not practical or wise for the average person. (Really it's not wise for anyone.) Imagine what that amount of drugs and hormones does to your body over the years. It even takes a long time just to build up a tolerance to that amount and mix of drugs. Sadly, that is the ugly truth about pro bodybuilding. Therefore, for the average, "natural" bodybuilder, having expectations to gain as much muscle as the "pros" and follow their same workout routines is not reasonable or practical.

So what about for the average male? How much muscle could you develop? Really, it is a difficult question to answer, as it is different for each person. If you have a good genetic disposition towards building muscle, you will probably already be quite muscular. Take for example a young kid I know that is only 14 years old and is already a very solid 160lbs and he's only been to the gym a few times. His father is quite muscular and he's never been to a gym in his life. Someone like that is more likely to gain more muscle, faster and easier than the average guy.

A lot also depends on bone structure and muscle belly length. Here are some basic calculations you can do to get a general idea of what you might be able to achieve in regards to arm size. For example, with a measuring tape, measure your wrist on the hand side of the bony lump. The average guy might have a wrist at about 7 inches. Take your measurement, let's say 7inches (for our example) and multiply that by 2.34. That gives us 16.38 or about 16 3/8 inches for a potential upper arm measurement that you might achieve while having a low body fat percentage. This is not an exact measurement for every single person but if you are diligent with your workout and nutrition plan, you might use that measurement as a guide when setting an ultimate goal to reach. Your arm size also depends on your muscle belly length. Once again, we'll use the arms as an example. Hold up your arm as if you were going to flex your bicep. Make sure that your forearm is at a 90-degree angle to your upper arm. Now flex your bicep looking at the distance from where the peak of your bicep comes down to the inside of your elbow. For someone with long muscle bellies the bicep attaches to the tendon close to the inside of the elbow leaving almost no space from the bicep to the inside of the elbow. Someone with shorter muscle bellies might be able to stick two or maybe three fingers in between their bicep and the inside of the elbow. Obviously, if you have a longer bicep you have more potential for developing a larger arm. Keep in mind that these measurements should be while having a low body fat percentage. Your arms will be bigger if you have more fat on your body, but much less defined and of course, that extra size is not muscle.

How Much Muscle Can You Gain?

How much muscle could you hope to gain? What lean bodyweight could the average person hope to achieve? If you are thinking a shredded 250 lbs well, it might be time to have some more reasonable expectations. However, we cannot give a specific calculation for every single person. But, several people have made calculations based upon height and frame size to roughly determine the maximum muscular potential the average guy may have. These calculations are based on the size of natural bodybuilders. (Natural meaning ones who don't use drugs and hormones)

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